footing the college bill

Amy - posted on 06/22/2011
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Alright. I know a few sides of this. What's your thoughts?

Some people say they have the ole "college fund" for their kids. Now, a lot of the kids I went to college with whose parents gave them the college fund.....screwed off like crazy, drank, got poor grades and never made it in their careers. The ones I know that paid for it themselves worked their asses off and achieved all and more than what they intended. Is that always the case? Do you have a college fund for your kids? Were you given one?

My brother in law went to a one year college for repairing/painting cars. Cost his parents about 30 thousand. Guess what.....he is not working on cars and isn't paying a cent on that. Is that fair to the parents? Or is that just money and a choice kids make?

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I want to pay for my girls to go to college. I don't want them saddled with debt when they start adult life. That said, if they goof off, no more help from mommy.

This is how it was done for my sister and me...I have a Master and she'll graduate with her's in August. Our scholarships paid our tuition. Our parents paid our rent. We paid our living expenses with our student jobs.

It doesn't have to be one way or the other. There is a happy medium in which parents can help their children and the children actually succeed.

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Tah - posted on 06/25/2011

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A medium is very good. some of our sisters moved back home at some point in their education..babies in tow though..lol. We did pay for out own educations though. Everyone save 2 are in the medical field...yes we have 4 nurses..lol. My youngest sister has a degree and wants to be a doctor, tution started getting to be so much she needed to move back to pennsylvania and stop her bilology degree to go to hair school so that she can pay down some student loans she used to get her first degree and take those biology courses as well and then start back up to being a doctor. If i can help my children avoid having to sidestep and manuever and then be loaded down with debt, ill do it. Now of course they need to do well, but if they do..ill help. thats why its so important for me to finish what im working on now. Do i make good money, sure..do i make UCLA school of medicine money..no..is Tavier talking about going to college in California...yes..yes he is...lol..i could afford the theoretical physicist..the surgeon is something different..lol. He better visit me everyday in that flipping nursing home man...and it better be a nice one and his wife better be nice...lol

One thing for me is for my children to have what I didn't have and not to suffer because I had them young. I have a small account that money goes into for college..I'll only be using part od my husbands gi bill and the kids will split the rest, though tavier will get a bigger share because he is older with only four years left until college.every time he changes his career path it cost me more money..lol. I want him to focus on school. Will he have to work..I would have him apply for a work study program maybe in his field..like at the science dept. Etc, but I do plan on footing the bill as much as possible. I know what's like to put yourself through school, I've been doing it since 18 and it's tough, it they don't have to struggle and can learn some responsibility along the way, I'm all for it..

Amy I think the fact that those kids screwed off, drank, and got poor grades could possibly have to do with the way they were raised. If their parents handed them everything, they never ever went without and never learned the consequences of what happens when you fuck off at a young age, they tend to turn out to be irresponsible adults that think their parents are going bail them out for the rest of their lives. So with that being said I think they see it as just being money and just being a choice they can make on their every whim.

I do plan on starting the College Bound Fund through payroll at work. It is only going to be there to supplement my children's education. They need to work for it. It's their education not mine. I will offer tons of support and push them to work their asses off to pursue their dreams. I want them to be better than me.

I did not go to college nor was I given the opportunity, come from a poor, blue collar background, and at that time I was too fucked up and into partying to even be bothered with it. I worked a couple of shitty jobs out of high school. One was at Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Connecticut and then I waitressed at a Rhode Island chain restaurant called Gregg's. At age 21 I began my illustrious career working in a manufacturing facility building nuclear powered submarines. I am still there and I work in a production support area and bust my ass on a daily basis. It's a bitch working in a "man's world". At times it seems as though you have to work harder to be noticed in a positive manner. It takes a while to get respected as an equal. A lot of woman that get a job there are a) looking to ge laid by every swinging dick in the place and don't take their job or what we produce seriously or b) looking for a husband and still don't take anything seriously

I have considered a fund for my children, although this certainly sheds a different light on it, so thank you!I think it is more about teaching our children to appreciate money. I certainly didnt appreciate money growing up, and expected a hand out all the time as a kid, in hindsight my parents were not rich at all, but the way I viewed the world was that money grew on trees, if I didnt get something, it wasnt fair ( MAJOR CRINGE!!)

I didnt have a college fund, and I put myself through college, didnt finish, and paid off a hefty student loan, but I have a very successful career which is about to go on hold to be a mum, and I am going to study teaching next year, again by a student loan (eek)My husband and I always said we wouldnt give our children something for nothing (when they are old enough to realise, obviously!)and will try to do some sort of incentive to ensure they 'work' for the money, like college fund will be there if you get good grades in school, or something like that.But as we have a 1 yr old and another on the way, we have a few years to nail the specifics... ;)

Ok well, my oldest daughter had a college fund started for her by her great grandparents (on her fathers side) they started it with $10,000. I don't know how much is in there now but Isabel will never know about it. I am determined that she will work her ass off trying to get everything she needs without ever possibly touching that money. If she needs it she can have it.

My other kids are SOL, we are broke and don't have extra money to be putting in a college fund...and we don't have rich grandparents either. Although my husband has made mention of signing over his GI Bill to our daughter...that leaves our son up shit creek. They will have to figure it out on their own however they WILL go to college.

IF I decide to help my children when they are in college...it's one shot, the minute they fuck up their funding stops. PERIOD. I won't play with that shit.